Quartern Systir
by rain-on-my-soul
Summary: Cleao had always had a fiery and determined spirit contained in her skinny, little body. She also had complete faith in those she surrounded herself with. She'll need both in order to prevent the alteration of the course of history by an ancient force. Things will change for Orphen and his family. (This will most likely veer into the Cleao/Orphen territory in some cases.)
1. A Leap in the Dark

Quartern Systir

Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerer Stabber Orphen or any of its characters.

A/n: I really should not be starting this. I have so much more to work on in other writing avenues. But this story would not leave me alone. For reference: this piece is most heavily influenced by the anime, as I have never been able to read the light novels (silly American, only knowing one language), and the manga was never finished. (It is mostly in the feeling of the first season, but I will probably not discount events of Revenge.) However, there may be elements from those other sources (a.k.a. through second and third sources via the internets). And, I will be adding my own little twist on other things, of course. Enjoy!

* * *

"_Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there's got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together." ~Yo-Yo Ma_

Chapter 1: A Leap in the Dark

The spray of the ocean rose in a tower before her. She watched as its base crumbled against the side of the cliff, and then she felt the topmost drops spill against her face. Right away, the ocean began to pull back the crashed wave. Cleao admired the view below her elevated perch.

"Don't tell me you're trying to take a bath in the ocean, Cleao. You'd have better luck taking the path down to the actual shoreline so that you could actually get in the water." Majic had his arms loosely crossed when he came up behind the blonde haired girl.

Unclasping her arms from around her bent legs, she turned toward him.

"Well, I could," she replied. "But I believe some incredible sorcerer went through all the trouble of making me a warm bath back at the house."

"An incredible sorcerer who didn't even have to use spells."

"Sorcerers," Cleao rolled her eyes, "the most big-headed creatures the world has ever known." But she was smiling.

Majic held out his hand to her with a laugh, and she took it. She did not miss the wince he gave as he lifted her up. Her gaze went to the clean bandage covering the cut above his left eye.

Keeping her thoughts to herself for once, "Thanks, Majic," she said rather.

Together, they walked away from the expansive sea, and toward their smaller house neighboring the water.

Even though she headed straight to her bath upstairs, once she was inside, Cleao noticed that Majic had managed to finish their dishes from dinner while she had made time to stare at the sea. She would never stop appreciating that about him. Quickly, she stripped out of her lightweight dress, almost even before she had closed the bathroom door. But she did not want Majic to be lonely.

"Majic!" Cleao called through the wood.

"What is it, Cleao? Water not warm enough for you?" teased the green-eyed male.

"No…I was just wondering what you were going to do while I try and get clean. Do you need me to be quick?"

"Take your time, Cleao. I'll just be down here reading a book."

"Alright." She leaped into the tub.

However, Cleao was rebellious by nature, so her bath was quicker that it may have usually been. And before he could finish his second chapter, Cleao stood before Majic in her cotton nightdress.

"I'll make us some tea," the blonde apparition in front of the sorcerer declared. He heard her softly humming in the kitchen as he went back to the unfinished chapter in his book.

When she came back a few minutes later with two heated mugs, he noticed that the darkened sky was trying to tell him the late hour, so he closed his book and put it down. Instead, he and Cleao conversed pleasantly for the next hour or so. They had cool and empty mugs by the time that their talk gently puttered out.

Majic rose first to put his mug in the sink; Cleao still cradled hers in her hands. Then he made his way back over to the woman seated at the table, and placed a chaste kiss upon the crown of her blonde hair.

"Goodnight, Cleao. I'll go to bed first." He walked upstairs.

"I'll be up soon, Majic," she softly replied.

She was looking up the dark staircase he had just ascended, but she was not seeing her home.

* * *

"_Majic! What happened?!" Cleao was openly staring at his heavily bandaged hand. She had just bumped into him at the Totokanta markets, a nice surprise, but she really had not wanted to meet her friend injured._

_Holding up his hand to her, he glanced at it. "Oh, this? Just a simple spell gone wrong." He had his usual smile on to laugh it off. "Guess I'll never be completely perfect. Haha."_

"_A humble sorcerer. I never thought I would see the day. Are you sure you're alright, Majic?"_

"_I'll live, Cleao. I promise."_

_She had no reasons to doubt his words; Majic hardly ever lied. She could remember more than once her teasing of his angelic appearance (read: naïve look)._

"_Well then, what have you been up to since we last saw each other, I mean besides attempting to blow yourself up?"_

"_Actually, I've been…"_

* * *

Her first encounter with his pain; she had been a fool to have dropped the matter so easily that time. Well time had proved her to not be a fool for long. She tried hard to be entirely present in all the moments of the present.

Cleao could not keep back the sigh as she stood up to put her mug away and head upstairs.

Before she went into the bedroom, the blue-eyed woman felt herself stalling just a bit in the bathroom; her nightly rituals took maybe a few more minutes than what was routine. She finished and shut out the light. She took a deep breath before she entered the bedroom in the dark.

Majic was asleep in the large bed placed at the center of the room. The bed was excessively big for just the one person lying in it, but he needed it that way. Cleao headed straight for it.

The young woman kneeled beside the resting sorcerer's form. She dropped her head into her folded arms draped over the edge of the bed and smile softly. A few silent moments passed. Then Cleao ran a hand gently through his short, blonde hair.

"Goodnight, Majic," she whispered.

Afterwards, Cleao quietly got to her feet to give one last look downwards.

She did not get into the bed with him then. They never slept in the same bed. Once, before things had aged, she had thought that her lying next to him would ensure a better outcome. A little reluctant, he had accepted her sleeping in the bed with him that one time. Except, the morning filled her with screams when they both awoke covered in blood. She would not sleep in the same bed again.

Tonight though, Cleao wrapped herself in an ageless quilt, a gift from Mariabella, and went to the window. There, she curled up on the built-in lounge beneath the glass panes. Her eyes closed and she slept.

* * *

It was as if she heard the sound of his last intake of breath, because her eyes snapped open just seconds before he let out his agonized scream. Cleao was up in an instant, scrambling out of her blanket, and dashing to Majic's side. When she got to him, she threw her hands to her wide, open mouth in shock.

Majic's body was spasming in pain as he screamed. There were fresh burns all over his body; the worst burn was wrapped around the side of his face. His relentless cries and searing flesh were bringing tears to Cleao's blue eyes. The burns stretched and tore as the sorcerer continued to thrash about. He was starting to bleed in places too.

"Oh Majic," Cleao stuttered out.

Crying more urgently, the young woman flung herself away from the awful sight before her. She ran at the window and threw open the glass.

"LEKI!" she shouted out to the mountains around them. "LEKI! Majic needs you! Hurry!"

When she heard the answering howl, Cleao rushed back to Majic's side.

His eyes were open now, making him more awake to his pain. Cleao wanted to calm him, to keep him from moving around and aggravating his wounds, but she could not place her hands anywhere to hold him down. But she refused to let him keep suffering like this. She started to whisper soft and reassuring words to him, in the shell of his ear; she clenched her arms tightly to her sides, keeping herself from physically trying to soothe him in an embrace.

The golden-haired woman continued to speak muted promises to him and him alone as costly seconds ticked by waiting for Leki. She could not afford to breakdown, but her eyes still sent silent tears down her cheeks.

A sudden whine at the window caused her to turn.

Leki, a larger than the house, blue wolf, was extending his massive snout through the open window.

Without warning, the Deep Dragon sprang into the house as his body rapidly changed size into that of an ordinary wolf. He was over to the bed in seconds, Cleao having stood up when Leki appeared outside. She watched as he leapt up onto the bed to protectively stand over the sorcerer's twitching body. Then Leki's eyes glowed green.

Her tears stopped when her animal friend went to work on Majic. His screams died down as the glowing, green light spread over his form. Slowly, the burns began to heal. It was only after Leki had finished repairing Majic's wounds that the young man stopped moving. The Deep Dragon crawled off of his patient in order to sit back on his haunches and observe his work. Cleao almost started crying again when Majic sat up.

"Majic?" the woman whispered. She clasped her hands tightly against her chest. "Are you alright?"

His green eyes turned to her and he nodded. Then, sensing what she needed next in the form of assurances, he opened his arms to her. Cleao did not throw herself at Majic (something she would have done long ago if something like this had happened back then), but carefully sat on the edge of the bed to gently hug him. Leki, watching, was also satisfied that Majic would survive; the blue wolf shrank to the size of a pup and curled in on himself to fall asleep in exhaustion. Cleao hugged Majic just a little bit tighter, her head over his shoulder.

A few minutes later, she pulled away.

"Does anything hurt?" she asked.

Majic took a few seconds to answer. "Where the burns were, my skin feels a bit raw. And the muscles below are tight and sore. But I will finish healing on my own."

"Will you?" These words were so quiet, probably just meant for Cleao herself, that Majic almost did not catch them.

"I'll be fine, Cleao."

Cleao shot up off the bed. Standing over Majic, she almost looked like the fierce brat she used to be.

"Will you though? What if you have another nightmare tonight?! You'll get more wounds on top of the ones you have now. Your body will never be able to repair itself fast enough! These ones were really bad this time, Majic. And you know they are getting worse each time. Leki can only heal you so much. What if,…" she looked down, refusing to glance in his eyes as she said this next part. "What if you die next time?"

The room went silent.

Majic watched her, but was not forthcoming with an answer.

When she could not take the quiet anymore, Cleao sighed.

"I think we should go back to the Tower of Fang." she said.

* * *

TBC…

A/n: Please let me know your thoughts, both good and bad. Thank you, and until next time!

-ROMS


	2. Eight, Sleep, Eight, Cleao, Eight

Quartern Systir

Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerer Stabber Orphen or any of its characters.

A/n: I'm not even being remotely sarcastic, but I am working on around six fics simultaneously. It's put my brain in a bit of a scramble, so forgive me if I am slow. I feel like I started this ages ago and just yesterday all at the same time. Anyway, I hope this chapter keeps your interest around.

* * *

Chapter 2: Eight, Sleep, Eight, Cleao, Eight

'_**I dance through the dimensions.'**_

"_Oh."_

"_You okay, Cleao?" Majic asked._

_The young blonde had to pause, gathering her bearings and wits. Majic wanted to chuckle when he subtly noticed her taking stock of herself, as if a piece had been left behind. She took another telltale deep breath. Then she was back to normal Cleao._

"_Me?" She appeared incredulous. "I should be asking you that! Should you really be doing that spell in your condition?"_

_He huffed indignantly. "I'm not weak or an invalid, you know. I got us here, didn't I?"_

"_Yeah, yeah. Great sorcerer or whatever. Let's just go inside."_

_Okay, so she was a little impressed when Magic did not even bother knocking, but walked straight into the tower, like he owned the place. (Or was a reckless dropout with no fear of the consequences like a former sorcerer the both of them knew only too well.)_

"_I still don't know what we're doing here, Cleao."_

"_Looking for help," she replied. Now she was the one confidently striding ahead. She had little to no idea where she was going though, but she had to get Majic to realize that this was all or nothing, and all for his own good. "Now let's go find it."_

_There was no greeting party or anything like that to meet them, but their casual visit did not go unnoticed. Before the two of them could get much further into their search, they were met by something. Suddenly, Hartia was upon them. He was cloaked in the robes of a master sorcerer, not too surprising because he was at the school, but not all together a complete picture because, well, it was the Black Tiger._

"_Shrimpy!"called out the female blonde._

_His answering call was no less exuberant. "Don't call me that!"_

_Without an angry tread, he approached them, despite the circumstances and name-calling. His tone, and that of the young woman, revealed that the greetings were terms of endearment and their faces reflected the presence of a deep friendship. The powerful sorcerer had his arms crossed beneath his dark blue robes, but this was more a habit built from status than an attempt at defensiveness. He was more than likely happy to see the "intruders"._

"_Master Hartia," Majic spoke a little more reverently, but he too was on the more casual side of things._

"_Majic,"Hartia nodded to his former student. Then he smiled to the boy and Cleao; it held a hint of a smirk. "Not that I am not happy to see the both of you, but should I even ask why you are here, at the Tower of Fang?"_

_Maybe, due to his delicate condition, Majic could almost sense suspicion in Hartia's words. Did he know? Maybe Lai knew more than any of them but Majic himself. But this was Hartia, Majic, he told himself. Stop being so dramatic; that is Cleao's job. His suspiciousness was more likely years of experience dealing with these particular travelers._

_Cleao took the reins. "I'm glad you asked, Shrimpy."_

"_Cleao…" He gave her a gentle warning glare._

_She smiled right back. "Shrimpy…"_

_It would have appeared that they had arrived at a stalemate; however, Hartia knew Cleao would always get her way in the end. Even if it meant suffering through an annoying misnomer for a while until she had her fun._

_Sigh. "What's going on?"_

"_Well, you see, Majic here has been having these…" Not altogether ready for Cleao to launch into a full explanation of his situation, the youthful blonde woman hardly had a secretive bone in her body, Majic jumped ahead with an interruption._

"_Actually, Master Hartia, is Master Azalea or Childman around?"_

_The tall redhead blinked and raised an eyebrow. "The two of them are unavailable at the moment, unfortunately," he replied. "But I think they should be back later, if you intend to wait."_

"_Wait! That's what we'll do. Come on, Cleao. Let's go wait in the library."_

"_Majic, would you mind telling me what you need with Master Childman and Master Azalea, or even the library, for that matter?"_

_Still caught in an ever-encroaching trap, the young sorcerer decided he needed to give a little to get a little._

"_Cleao was the one who wanted to come in the first place, but maybe she's right. We need some help doing a little research on dreams."_

"_A little?" butt-in the Everlasting girl._

"_Cleao, please." Long, blonde tresses turned away. "I was thinking maybe the library had some books that we could look at. And as far as Azalea and Childman, I'm sure they would have a vast knowledge on the magical nature of dreams."_

_Hartia remained skeptical and not fully convinced. He could see something in the boy's green eyes that guarded at things left unsaid. If he prodded further, he could probably get Cleao to explain everything, but he would not do that for the cost of losing Majic's trust. Hartia realized that if Majic Lin was working to keep secrets, then it may be best to let the boy be until he felt comfortable enough to share more. It would perhaps be revealed a bit at a time. Was there also something in those oceanic orbs that threatened to forcefully break those walls from the inside?_

"_If that is all then,…I shall inform Master Childman and Master Azalea that you two wish to see them when they get back. I guess, for the meantime, you'll be in the library? Do you still remember where it is, Majic?"_

_The male blonde nodded, trying to smile sincerely, and looked over to his female friend. She had her arms crossed, but she had at least turned back toward the conversation. She sullenly averted eye-contact with Majic, nonetheless. He sighed._

"_We'll just get going then. You coming Cleao?"_

"_Hmph." Cleao started to stalk ahead. "Even I remember where the library is, you ridiculous sorcerers. See ya around, Shrimpy."_

_Majic had to jog to keep up to her slim figure retreating into the darkness._

_Arms still folded into his robes, Hartia watched them go. He kept his gaze forward until the shadows of the hallway swallowed up his friends completely._

"_If the trouble I sense they are in is as real as this feels, maybe Lai will have some answers for us all. Either that…or more questions."_

* * *

_She was not going to admit to posturing, or anger, and she was definitely not going to admit to defeat, or being lost, but maybe she had been lying when she had told the others that she remembered exactly where the great library of the Tower of Fang was kept. Instead, she pretended she wanted to slow down in order to allow Majic to catch up, and then she slyly let him take the lead. If he knew the truth, it was only years of friendship that prevented him from saying anything out loud. She did not catch his smile either._

_They made easy time getting to the library, did not have any trouble getting into the room, and there was absolutely no noise as they were the only two people using the amenities at that time of night. They settled in to get comfortable scanning row after row, shelf after shelf, title after title, and page after page for the next few hours._

* * *

_Majic was quietly shuffling through an older tome at one of the tables when sudden noise almost had him ripping out a probably, extremely valuable page from the book in front of him._

"_ARGH! I can't take it anymore!" Thrashing about on the small ladder she sat perched from, a large pile of discarded texts nearly surrounding her, the blonde woman hollered out in frustration. "I'm telling you, none of these stuffy sorcery books have anything in them about dreams that hurt or dreams that almost nearly kill you!" She threw one of said dusty books in the air and over her disgruntled features._

"_Cleao…you can read these?"_

_Being questioned, the girl with blue eyes took a peak at her friend. "Yeah, what did you think I was doing with all this stuff?"_

"_I thought you were just pretending to look busy and helpful. Like you used to do with Orphen and I; I thought you didn't know how to read runes."_

_Both of them silently studied one another. In the end, Cleao dropped another text onto the pile and leaned forward to gaze directly at Majic._

"_Hartia taught me," she said softly._

"_When?" asked Majic._

"_I guess it'd be a couple of years ago now." She put her face in her palms. "Do you remember when I used to specifically run off when you and Orphen would start a lesson?"_

_The boy nodded. "I always thought you were just upset that Orphen was teaching me spells and that you knew you could never learn them."_

"_Maybe, I was a little jealous. But then I started to use those trips to meet up with Hartia. You see, he'd come to visit us sometimes, but I always managed to steal him away from you two. And while Orphen was teaching you spells, Hartia taught me runes."_

"_Orphen wouldn't have liked that if he had known what you were up to."_

"_I know, but I liked Hartia," she admitted._

_Majic almost jumped out of his seat and fell out of his chair all at the same time._

"_What?! You had a thing for Shrimp Man?!"_

_Waving her hand as if to dispel the images that could be floating around in her friend's mind, Cleao went on with her explanation, "No. Not like that. It's just, he would answer my questions when Orphen wouldn't. Hartia just listened, you know?"_

"_But I'm sure Orphen would have taught you if you'd have asked him. Or maybe I would have."_

"_I was too proud at the time to ask for help, but I wanted to be Orphen's partner; more like his equal. And Hartia offered to teach me; I never asked."_

_Sincerely taking her words in, Majic felt his green eyes really take in her blue ones. When did they all become so serious? He decided it was probably sometime in Totokanta._

_Cleao was the first to look away._

"_I wonder if Azalea and Childman are back yet," she stated absentmindedly._

_Maybe she had some sorcerer's blood in her after all because her words seemed to summon the red-haired master sorcerer in seconds. He appeared in the library with three others in tow._

_No one elected to bother with formalities at this point. Instead of embarking on that task, the new arrivals took up different spots around the table and shelves to surround the two blondes. There was a purple-haired woman sitting on the windowsill. Next to her was a young boy with blue hair in a long ponytail. On the opposite side of the table, Hartia leaned against a shelf while his short and green-haired friend stood by his side._

_Azalea's powerful gaze locked onto Majic's form._

"_Please explain to us the nature of these dreams you've been having, Majic. Then we can see what sort of aid the Tower of Fang can give to you and Miss Cleao."_

"_Umm, well, I guess I'll start with the first one then…_

_ It's like the ground is slowly coming up to meet me. Because I'm running through these stone hallways. And there's flashes of lightning that keep making everything go completely white. It comes in through the cutout windows of the ruins. Maybe the lightning is actually reaching out to grab me, striking me every time the world goes white, but I can't feel it because I'm too busy breathing heavily and running. For a while, it seems like I'm not getting anywhere. But then everything goes black and I fall on my knees. When I open my eyes again, it's no longer raining; instead, it's sort of bright and calm like the empty middle of a storm. And any water I feel is coming up from the ocean that is right in front of the cliff I've landed on. There's these statues, completely perfect unlike the rest of the ruins, that are watching me the whole time. Suddenly Cleao's there, standing next to me as I kneel on the ground. She walks in front of me, crying, as if she was the one struck by lighting and hurt, not me. Now she's right at the edge of the cliff and I think she's looking into a mirror because I can see her reflection. It fades so fast that I think maybe I actually didn't see it at all. Then, one of the statues, a motherly looking one, starts to laugh. And before I can even move, or say a spell, or do anything, they all push Cleao into the ocean._

_And for every dream since, even though I wake up in pain, I know that Cleao has just died."_

_He tries not to look at her when he says these last few words, because he knows that she has been shedding silent tears since the beginning of his story. However, he feels the urge meet her eyes as a way to offer her comfort (even though he is the one with the nightmares that cause him physical pain). Majic knows he has to be able to see into her blue gaze as he makes his next admission; he owes it to her._

"_These dreams I've been having, Cleao, they're about you. Each one is a different way that you die."_

* * *

TBC…

A/n: In answer to your unasked question, yes, this entire chapter is a flashback. I hope you'll come to understand more of what is going on when the next chapter comes out. Meanwhile, maybe check out some of my other stories. (After you leave a review for this one, of course.)

-ROMS


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